The invention refers to a process for the preparation of foodstuffs in which the main component is cereals, as well as the food products obtained by this process, which as a result have better organoleptic (flavor/aroma) and hygienic properties, improved dispersibility, durable viscosity and a smaller amount of cariogenic sweeteners.
Cereals constitute an important group of the substances for human nourishment, though their nutritional task is particularly relevant during the very first years of the individual. Diets for breast-feeding babies, based on mother's milk or on the use of artificial milk formulas, are normally sufficient to cover the nutritional needs during the first six months of life, the cereals being usually the bridge towards an adult diet. The choice of cereal based foods or cereals with milk as the first element of complementary feeding during the second part of the first year of life is not an uncommon decision, since cereals are very useful in the development of the individual. Thus, they provide proteins and contribute immensely to the energy balance, due to their relatively high natural carbohydrates content, augmented by the addition of saccharose as the usual sweetener, although the cariogenic power of this sugar limits its use.
Another advantage of the consumption of cereals comes from the change introduced with regard to the source of energy. The use of cereals leads to a progressive reduction in the ingestion of milk and therefore the energy contribution provided by the fats, the presence of which is low in cereals. Thus, while fats provide 50% of the energy during the first months of life, towards the end of the first year they constitute only 25-30%. However, in order to cover the daily protein and calcium requirements, it is recommended that at least 500 ml of milk be consumed.
A further reason for using foods other than human milk and infants formulas, is to prevent iron deficiency, and from this point of view the supplementation of cereals with iron is readily accepted. However, organoleptic (flavor/aroma) problems arise from the addition of iron, the usual solution to which is to increase the amount of sweeteners added.
On this subject, the European Society of Gastroenterology and Pediatric Nutrition (ESPGAN), have set a regulation on the composition and use of cereals for breast-feeding babies (ESPGAN, Committee on Nutrition, Acta Paed. Scan. 287, 1981), including the adequate treatment for easy dispersion in water or milk and digestion.
With reference to the starch present in cereals, it is known that the activity of pancreatic amylase breast-feeding babies is low, particularly in the first months of life. Chemical processes have often been used to alter the structure of the links between amylase and amylopectin, producing the so-called modified starches. This modification provides an improvement in texture, consistency and flavor in the food, but there is concern regarding the toxic effects of these starches, generally added at a concentration of 5-6.5%, due to the presence of residual quantities of the chemical reagents used in the modification. The possible interference of modified starches on the absorption of minerals due to their chelation has also been reported.
Within the conventional process for the preparation of cereal based foods, there has been widely described and used the step of changing the structure of the starch by enzymatic hydrolysis, the generally employed enzymes being those of the group of alpha/beta-amylase and glucoamylase.
Basically, this conventional process comprises the stages of
mixing the selected cereals with water, PA1 heating the mixture to temperatures equal or over 100.degree. C., PA1 cooling the mixture, PA1 addition of enzymes for a treatment of hydrolysis for the whole mixture or a part thereof, and PA1 drying the mixture
Said conventional process is completed, according to each case, with the stages of inactivating the enzymes by re-heating or addition of chemical reagents, pH adjustment of the mixture, addition of vitamins, minerals, edulcorants, fats, milk, fruits or vegetables, as well as the stages of forming the food as flakes, pellets or powder.
For example, in European patent 031050 there is described a process in which the mixture of starchy material and water is boiled to 150.degree.-160.degree. C. for 15-60 seconds, cooled to 50.degree.-90.degree. C. and then a 5% by weight of an alpha/beta-amylase is added which acts during 10-60 min. The resulting product is sterilized by steam at 115.degree.-150.degree. C. for 5-20 seconds and spray dried. European patents 258486 and 350952 also refer to enzymatic hydrolysis processes for cereal based preparations.
By following said conventional process, the boiling of the cereal mixture in water at temperatures about 100 .degree. C. only produces, most of the times, an uncomplete cooking of the cereals, what results in an undesired flavor/aroma for the product. This deterimental result, together with the aforementioned ones, is sought to be remedied by adding sweeteners in quantities up to 40% by weight, thus increasing the undesirable cariogenic effects.
Also, when starch is heated in the presence of water, even in the drying phase, the gelification of the non-hydrolyzed starches takes place. This causes an affinity of the product to the collection of water, which in time provokes an increase in its viscosity and affects its dispersibility in water or milk.
Finally, food products obtained by this conventional process present hygienic inconvenients, since microbial development is favored during the mixture of cereals and water at some intervals of temperature.